Sequestered jury endures more Boulis trial delays

The jurors in the Gus Boulis murder trial, sequestered since Sept. 30, will have another day off Tuesday.

Except during deliberations, Broward County has not sequestered a jury for a trial in decades, said Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes, who is presiding over the case and now faces the unusual duty of keeping jurors busy while nothing is going on in court.

David Bogenschutz, the defense lawyer representing reputed mobster Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello in the high-profile murder case, has been ill since last Thursday, bringing the case to a sudden halt as witnesses wait their turn to take the stand and jurors try to figure out how to pass the time under the constant, watchful eye of Broward Sheriff's deputies.

The 13 jurors, including one alternate, have been staying at a Broward motel, away from their families, since the trial opened. They are not allowed to watch television or read newspapers.

On Tuesday, Holmes said, jurors who've asked for them will get haircuts and manicures. One juror, who brought his guitar and a DVD of lessons with him, will be permitted to use a DVD player to keep practicing. Lawyers on both sides of the case approved of the accommodations.

Moscatiello, 75, and Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, 56, are each accused of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder in the 2001 slaying of Boulis, the Miami Subs founder who was locked in a power struggle over the SunCruz Casino boat business he sold to Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan in a fraudulent deal. Moscatiello and Ferrari face the death penalty if convicted.

The last witness to testify in the case was James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, a former co-defendant who pled out and agreed to testify for the prosecution. Fiorillo who was in the middle of being cross examined Oct. 9 by Ferrari's lawyer, Christopher Grillo.

Prosecutors were set to interrupt Fiorillo's testimony on Oct. 10 to call a mystery witness – whose real name won't be revealed to the jury – but the illness of Bogenschutz interrupted that plan.

On Monday, Holmes considered ending her sequestration order and sending the jury home. Other options included declaring a mistrial or severing the cases – proceeding with Ferrari as the sole defendant and saving Moscatiello for a later trial.

But after learning that Bogenschutz should be healthy enough to return to court on Wednesday, Holmes kept the sequestration order in place.